Daughter of Darkness
by Belladonna The Strange
Summary: Isil was sent to our realm when she was just born. She was meant to spend her life there until she was old enough to return to Middle Earth and face the enemy. Oblivious to her heritage she grows up in New York. What happens when three strangers appear in her life and she learns who she really is?
1. Chapter 1

"...You cannot take her away from me." cried a woman hugging a newborn child tightly to her chest.

"We will be putting her in mortal danger if we allow her to stay here." said the elven lord avoiding to look into the woman's eyes.

"I will protect her. With my life I will protect her! Please, she is all I have." she sobbed.

"But that is not enough Aara. She is safe for now. But we cannot keep watch on her forever. If they find her.. If they take her.." he trailed off "She must be kept away. As far as possible. Until it is time for her to return and conquer him."

"He is her father," spoke another voice, "how do you know she won't join forces with him if she shall return?"

"We must give her a chance" answered Lord Elrond looking at a young elf "Her power is great," his eyes traveled to a tiny form sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms "We can use all the help we can get."

"What must I do?" asked Aara helplessly.

"Give her to Gandalf, he will take her to the land of men where magic cease to exist. Where the great eye cannot see."

* * *

It was 2:00 am on December the 14th. Three girls were sitting in a cluttered bar, celebrating the 18th birthday of Isil Tolken. She was the shortest of the three, with slightly pale skin, pointy nose, black raven hair that came down to the midst of her back and eyes that were metallic gray. Overall her looks were distinct and made her stand out in public. That night she was wearing a black short dress that two of her friends begged her to put on and her favorite biker boots that she wore despite her friend's protests.

"C'mon Isil, one more shot!" pleaded the platinum blonde with huge brown eyes grinning at her friend.

"Nah I'm good Lia" Isil was already feeling tipsy and the atmosphere around her made her dizzy.

"It's your birthday! Have some fun, dammit" slurred Lia holding on to the bar table to prevent herself from falling off her chair.

"Someone had a little too much tequila" smirked another girl named Addy, who had a black bob cut. She grabbed her friend's elbow, and Isil laughed as two of them failed to maintain balance and tumbled to the floor.

"Okay I'm getting us a taxi" she said trying to fish out her cell phone out of her purse. Going through her stuff, her hand ran into a cold, smooth object that she recognized as her trusty taser. It saved her from being mugged twice, and from being dragged into a creepy van once. Living in New York she learned not to leave her home without that wonderful possession.

Finally finding her phone she order a cab and dragged her friends out of the door. The two were signing 'I will survive' on the way out and earned a couple of stares from the strangers.

"What are _you_ looking at, goatee?" barked Isil at the guy who looked at them for a little too long. The guy looked away quickly, suddenly finding a ripped up poster of Katy Perry interesting.

"Dammit, where is that asshole" muttered Isil getting uncomfortable from holding both of her friends up right. She was tired from all the dancing and all she wanted was to go home, crash on her soft bed and drift off to sleep.

When Addy and Lia were taken home safely, Isil realized she spent her last money to pay for their ride.

"I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL FOR THIS!" yelled Isil as she was kicked out of the cab after punching the driver in the nose for offering her 'an alternative'.

"Creepy fucking jerk" she muttered angrily picking up her purse and kicked an empty soda can. She was six blocks away from her home. Walking at this hour was not wise even for her, but it seemed like the only option.

On her way home, she ran into a drunk couple eating at each others faces, an alerted looking short, bald guy in a business suit, and a homeless dude who was too kind to offer her a molded piece of pizza, which she politely refused to take.

When she was finally coming up the steps to her apartment, she turned the key in the keyhole and entered. Kicking off her boots she mindlessly walked through the living room to the kitchen.

When she started to pour a glass of water, she froze. Her eyes slowly widened at a sudden realization. Gripping the glass in her hand like her life depended on it, she took a few steps backwards into the living room and slowly turned to face the three figures that stood there.


	2. Chapter 2

Isil stared at the three frozen figures with an open mouth. Her eyes traveled from the old man with a long, tangled, gray beard, to a young man with long blonde hair in a green tunic to another blonde man who looked a lot like the other one, except he was wearing a red tunic. If she was in a completely different situation she would've made a remark about their ridiculously geeky outfits. They looked like they just came back from a renaissance fair. But she wasn't in a different situation. She was in her apartment and so were they.

The glass that she was still holding in her pale hand slipped out and shattered to pieces at her feet, spilling the water all over the floor. The old man looked like he was about to speak, but was interrupted by the ear piercing scream. Isil bolted towards the exit. Before she could make it to the door, someone grabbed her by her waist and held her off the floor to which she responded by frantic kicking and screaming. She successfully elbowed the offender in the abdomen, who let out a pained huff and let go of her. Without a second thought she ran for the door, grabbing her purse on the way out. The door however did not comply when she tried to open it. Panicking she started to batter her fists at it.

"HEEEEELP! HELP, SOMEBODY! HELP ME! HEEEELP!"

Realizing they must have somehow blocked it from the outside, she grabbed her purse and searched for the life saving taser. When the three man appeared in front of her again, she whipped out her weapon and pointed it at them.

"STAY BACK FREAKS, OR I'LL TASE YOUR GUTS OUT!" she shrieked but her hand shook like a maraca.

"We mean no harm!" spoke the old man, trying to calm her down.

"Said every serial killer ever" she spat.

"Put your weapon down and we will talk" said the man in a red tunic.

"HA! How about you get the hell out of my house before I call the cops" Of course she would have called them by now, except she couldn't remember where she put her cell phone. The men stared at her in confusion. The one in a green tunic took out his blade causing her to jump, but instead of running at her with it as she expected him to, he threw it on the ground. The other man did the same thing with his sword. Both of them looked at her expectedly.

"Yeah no. Not happening. Nuh uh." she said knowing that they wanted her to give up the taser.

"Isil, you must listen to what we tell you" spoke the old man. Eyes widening, she stared at him.

"How do you know my name?"

"We have met a while ago, you were only a child. You and your mother were separated then."

"My mother is dead." she said bitterly.

"No, your real mother. She is very much alive"

"Right. Am I suppose to believe you?" they were insane. Three lunatics.

The two other men looked slightly annoyed and one of them spoke.

"You were born in Middle Earth and sent here to prevent the Dark Lord from capturing you"

"The Dark Lord? Am I like.. Harry Potter or something?"' she asked and then broke into a hysteric fits of giggles. The three men stared at her in bewilderment as she grasped herself, unable to control the laughter. She was about to get chopped up into tiny cubicles and instead of running she was laughing!

"You are Isil of Mordor, daughter of Sauron" announced the man in a red tunic trying to ignore her cackling. Finally she was able to contain herself. There was no way to escape. The door was blocked and she couldn't get to the balcony because they were in her way.

"Who are you then?" she asked helplessly.

"I'm Gandalf the Grey" said the old man and bowed his head slightly. She noticed he had a strange looking cane in his hands. Maybe she could use it as a weapon to bash their heads in later.

"This is Legolas Greenleaf," continued the man pointing at the man in a green tunic "and this is Thranduil, The Elven King of Mirkwood" The man in a red tunic was looking down his nose at her.

"So.. you're saying you're...elves?" asked Isil, looking at the three men with doubt. She always imagined elves to be child sized, with rosy cheeks and funny hats. None of them looked like that. Okay now she's going insane. Elves don't exist. Neither does Santa Claus, the Easter bunny or the tooth fairy.

"They are elves" said the man smiling "I am a wizard"

"If you're a wizard. Do something...wizardy" she demanded crossing her arms. The man smiled and raised his cane. It started to lit up from the inside, illuminating the room with a warm yellow light. Isil's eyes widened and she yelped.

"DUDE, YOUR STICK IS ON FIRE" she yelled pointing at the cane. The man however did not flinch, but pointed it forward. A bunny made out of golden streaks of light appeared and jumped around in the thin air. She watched the creature with awe as it bounced around her. Then it jumped back into Gandalf's cane and the light went out.

"….Wow" was the only thing she managed to say. Okay so she was wrong. He was a wizard after all. Unless he was super awesome at faking it.

"Do you believe me now?" asked the wizard.

Oh yeah she believed him alright. Didn't mean that they weren't going to abduct her and hang her on the wall as a trophy after making tacos out of her liver. But she would play along. Play along in their little messed up game until she had a chance to escape.

"Yeah, sure" she nodded trying to sound casual.

"Are you ready to hear us out?" asked Legolas.

"Mhm. Yep. Tell me all about that Sour nom person." Before any of them could say anything a glass shattering sound came from the living room, causing the girl to jump, dropping the taser.

The two man who claimed to be elves grabbed their weapons off the floor and ran into the living room. "Stay here" said the wizard and followed them. Isil took the opportunity to run into her bedroom. Locking the door behind her she could hear clanging of swords, shouting and weird shrieking sounds that she couldn't identify. Unless they were slaying a velociraptor in her living room, she had no idea what the hell was going on in there.

She ran up to the window and tried to open it. It's been jammed for years, but she knew there was no other way out, so she had to try. When she finally managed to open the damn thing, the door flew off the hinges and only missed her by a few inches.

Isil turned around and her blood ran cold at what she saw. The monster that stood in the doorway was about 7 feet tall. It's skin was sickly pale covered in war paint, long tangled hair was hanging from its head and yellow fangs sticking out of its mouth. Its red glowing eyes were burning into her as it towered over her. She would have screamed if she wasn't completely paralyzed with fear.

Remembering that freezing is the last thing to do when in danger, Isil searched the room with her eyes, frantically looking for a weapon. She spotted a baseball bat that her ex boyfriend gave her few years ago at the foot of her bed. As the thing approached her, she waited until it was close enough to strike.

"I DONT THINK SO, FUGLY!" She grabbed the bat and swung as hard as she could at the beast, causing it to let out a bloodcurdling roar. Before it could rip her into pieces, she jumped over the bed to get to the door. The man in a red tunic from before appeared in the doorway, just as she was about to make an exit. Instead, she ran right into him and went flying backwards onto the bed.

The beast grabbed her throat and raised her in the air baring its ugly, sharp teeth at her. Scowling, she attempted to push away, but it was hellishly strong. She felt all the air escape her lungs and just when she thought it was going to crush her on the spot, the monster let out another roar of pain as a sword pierced its flesh. Both tumbled to the floor.

"Are you alright?" asked the man in the doorway furrowing his eyebrows as she struggled to push the dead body off of hers.

"Been better" she coughed, grasping the bed in an attempt to get up. She looked at the creature with disgust. "What in the world is that thing?" she asked rubbing her throat.

"An orc" The man stated giving her a confused glance.

"Of course. My bad"

"Come with me. We have to get you to safety" he said and walked out.

At this point she realized she'd rather go with the lunatics, than be chopped into pieces by one of these. Avoiding to step on the carcass, she followed the strange man out of the door.

When Isil walked into her living room, she did not recognize it. Every piece of furniture suffered from the violent encounter earlier. The old men casually sat on what was left of her couch, completely ignoring the fact that someone's insides where smeared across the floor, and chopped up bodies of the monsters that look like the one in her bedroom were laying around. He smiled at her and with a hand gesture invited her to sit down on the couch beside him. Isil just stared at the horrifying mess with her mouth hung open. The two men stood in the room watching her in silence. Dumbfounded, she carefully walked across the room towards the couch. Her foot hit something soft. Slowly moving her eyes down, she found a single head, without a body attached to it, looking back at her with its glassy eyes. Well. A glassy _eye. _The other eye she could not see, because there was an arrow stuck in it. Feeling light headed and unable to keep herself together anymore, she fainted.


	3. Chapter 3

Isil was curled up in her bed sheets, sleeping peacefully. The light rays pierced the curtains that hung over the tiny window and teased her eyelids.

"ugh maan" she groaned, scrunching up her nose and rubbed her eyes. Rolling off her bed, she sleepily made her way to the bathroom. When she entered the room, her eyes automatically went up to the mirror. Her own reflection made her gag.

"my god, what have I been drinking last night" she said out loud.

Her hair crowned her head proudly, in a form of a black tangled mess that reminded her of a road kill. Her eyes looked like they have melted out of her sockets because of all the eyeliner and mascara that was intensely smeared all over. In addition to that she was still wearing her little black dress.

"No more!" she announced, pulling the black death off her body. The thing seemed to not want to go because it probably knew it shall never be worn again, so it clung to her for its dear life. Finally with a lot of struggle, Isil managed to free her self.

The next task was to brush the road kill out of her hair which took a lot of effort. She usually avoided that sort of struggle by braiding her hair before bed, but apparently she was too damn tired that she passed out without even changing.

She had no memory of what happened last night after the party. While untangling her hair she tried to remember, but her mind was just blank.

When her hair was finally nice and smooth, she stood under the hot streams of her shower, smiling at the nice sensation.

"It's getting near dawn, When lights close their tired eyes, I'll soon be with you my love" she bursted into a song "mmmhmmmhhmmm I'll stay with you darling now, I'll stay with you till my seas are dried up"

As Isil serenaded in the shower, she had no idea who was hanging out in her living room. If she did she would flip out.

* * *

Meanwhile the three men were sitting in the living room in silence, hearing every word of Isil's performance. None of them felt comfortable with that fact.

*Flash back to last night*

Isil lay on the floor unconscious, as the three men were deciding her fate.

"It will be safer for her," stated Legolas "They know where she is now, it is only the matter of time that they strike again"

"As much as I agree with you," spoke Gandalf "I am sure she wont be very thrilled to awaken in a queer place, surrounded by strangers"

"We cannot take her there without her acknowledgment. It can cause her powers to unleash. We are to make sure she does not use them before she is ready." agreed Thranduil

* * *

*Back to the present*

"IM WITH YOU MY LOOOVE, The LIGHT shining through on YOUUU, yes I'm with you my LOOOVE, its the morning and just we TWOO-OO. ILL STAY WITH YOU DARLING NOOOW. ILL STAY WITH YOU TILL MY SEAS ARE DRIED UP" Isil was bellowing from the bathroom. She decided she better get out before she used up all the hot water in New York, so she wrapped herself in a soft towel, and exited the room determined to make herself some coffee and maybe a peanut butter sandwich. As she was getting closer to the kitchen, she realized something was not right about the living room.

"OH MY GOD" she screeched, grabbing the nearest wall for support, as the events of last night came rushing back to her upon seeing the awful mess.

"YOU!" she yelped raising an accusing finger at the men who stood there facing her.

"Do you remember us?" asked Legolas stepping up to her, unsure.

"Yeah I remember you! You're the lunatics who wrecked my house and slayed a bunch of zombie-freaks, or whatever you call em" she ranted angrily.

"They were after you" said Thranduil sternly "We saved your life"

"Right so you're saying they didn't follow you here?" Isil questioned him crossing her arms. The men were taken by surprise and looked like they were about to say something but didn't.

"Yeah. So I will appreciate it if you could just swoop out of here and we can all pretend this never happened. Well. Me and my psychiatrist might talk about it for a while but I'll be fine. In like seven years."

"You cannot stay here" stated Thranduil walking up to her "They will come back and they will take you. You can either come with us, or be dragged there by a troop of angry orcs. The choice is yours." Isil hugged her arms in discomfort and turned away.

"We can tell you everything before we go" said Legolas in an attempt to soften the harsh words of his father.

"Fine" she answered. Then she remembered that she was still wearing a towel and added "After I change" and escaped into the safety of her bedroom.

Leaning against the door she covered her face with both hands and let out an uneven sigh. What was she doing? Was she actually going to listen to those strangers? She should just call police now. On the other hand, what if they were right? What if the monsters were coming back? She'd didn't want to think about what they would do to her.

Pulling herself together she leaned away from the door and opened her closet. The majority of her belongings were black. Wearing it made her feel safer and more confident for some reason, so she stuck to it.

Picking out black jeans and a long sleeve shirt she changed fast and dried her hair in a hurry.

To get rid of the tired look on her face she applied a little face powder and lined her eyes. Feeling like she could face anything at the moment, she headed back to the living room.

After a hearing a long story about the creation of elves and maiars, Gandalf finally got to the part about her mother being kidnapped by orcs and brought to Mordor.

"The prophecy states that the heir to the dark throne shall be the raise or downfall of Mordor." Isil felt shivers going through her entire body. She didn't want to be the downfall of anything.

"So you people expect me to be the 'downfall' of this Mordor? Well I hate to disappoint you but I think you got the wrong girl."

"You are the heir, Isil" said Gandalf "You obtain a great power. You just do not know how to use it yet."

Isil gulped and shifted in her seat. "So that Sauron guy.. kidnapped my mom?"

"She was taken to Mordor by his servants who performed a ritual on her that took part of Sauron's soul and implanted it into your mother" he said with anguish in his voice. Isil felt sick. She always imagined her father to be a good man. Maybe a doctor who died saving lives in Afganistan. Now she learned that he was some sick bastard who basically raped her mother so that she would give birth to a baby who would grow up to be his soldier bitch.

'Wait. You said that place is guarded by these monsters.. How did she manage to escape while being pregnant?' asked Isil confused. She couldn't even run away from her classmates during a foot ball game. How could someone escape an army of monsters while carrying a child inside them? She must have been really bad ass. Like Xena.

"We thought it was a miracle that she got away, but now we think it was Sauron's plan all along. Even he knew a child wouldn't survive on that foul land so he let your mother escape so she raised you and when you turn 18, he could send his army to bring you back."

"Oh" she didn't really know how to react to that. Her entire life was leading to the moment where she would get abducted and sent to a hell hole where she would be turned into one of those monsters. Maybe even worse.

"How did they find me then? You said he couldn't see me in this world"

The three men exchanged uneasy looks.

"You were right when you said they followed us here.. You see, there is a portal that allows us to travel form one world to another. That is how you got here in the first place. One must know where to find it however. The spies of Mordor followed us to it."

Isil ran a hand through her hair and shut her eyes. Why couldn't they just leave her be? What right did they have to just burst into her life like that and demand her to fight their battles. 'They probably knew the orcs were following them here and they let them so that I couldn't refuse', she thought angrily.

Isil suddenly noticed something just now.

"Wait. I remember there were dead monsters in here. What happened to them?" she questioned the men

"You do not need to worry about them anymore. We took care of it" said Thranduil

She looked at him narrowing her eyes sceptically. What could they possible have done with them. Her eyes widened at an assumption. She walked up to the balcony and looked down. Nine feet below them where chopped up bodies, laying in the middle of a side walk like no big deal.

"Oh god." she sighed squeezing the bridge of her nose

"We don't have any more time to waste" declared Legolas "We must leave now"

Isil packed a backpack of necessities that she thought she would require in their little voyage, as she called it. Some comfortable clothes, a toothbrush to not be gross, an eyeliner (duh), and of course how could she forget her trusty taser.

"So where is this portal?" she asked tying her boot laces

"It is in the forest" said Legolas watching curiously as she attempted to unlock her door

"There is a spell on that door" said Gandalf pointing his staff at the lock. It flashed green and the door clicked.

"Oh that's why" Isil laughed at herself remembering her failed attempts to escape last night.

"The forest? The only forest I know around here is the Central Park. Okay do you guys have a car or something?" she asked them and watched their face expressions go blank

"I beg your pardon?" asked Gandalf

"How did you travel?"

"By foot" said Thranduil like it was obvious "We couldn't bring attention to ourselves"

"Yeah you guys are masters of disguise" she snorted looking at their ridiculous outfits. She laughed even louder imagining them running from a building to a building hiding behind every garbage can and a light post, with mission impossible playing in the background.

"Okay well I'm not walking there. I'll call my friend and we can borrow his RV. I'm not really good at driving but it's better than walking" she said pulling out her cell phone and dialing Eric's number, who was her pot head friend. Eric was the only person that actually gave a damn about what happened to her. Her other 'friends' were just.. there.

"Bro. I need to borrow your RV.. there is a ...renaissance fair I'm going to with some people" she quickly lied "Duudee., you don't even have license... How about I'll take you there" he drawled

"It's fine, it's not far away"

"I'll take you there" he insisted.

"Okay fine, see ya"

"What kind of sorcery did you use to trap a human being in such a small object" exclaimed Legolas looking at her in wonder.

"It's called technology" she wonder what was their reaction when they walked through New York city.

Eric drove up to the apartment building and honked to let them know he arrived. Isil motioned the two elves and the wizard to follow her to the trashy RV.

Eric was only a few inches taller than Isil, had long, messy dark hair and a tattoo of a shark on his left arm that was hanging out of the car. He was playing Highway to Hell by Black Sabbath at full volume and rocking his head to the song when they approached.

"Hey Eric"

"Heheeey!"

Legolas and Thranduil stared at the RV and the man inside it with bewilderment while Gandalf leaned on his staff and observed the scene.

"Nice costume bro" grinned Eric and nodded with approval at the wizard

"Hey these are my..friends.. Legolas, Thranduil and Gandalf"

"Choool. I'm Eric. Get in when you're ready" he said and proceeded to use the wheel as a drum set. Isil rolled her eyes and turned to the three men who look confused out of their minds.

"What sort of beast is that?" asked Legolas.

"That's my friend Eric" said Isil blankly.

"No, the beast your friend has tamed" said Legolas frowning.

"What? Oh, no haha it's not alive, it's sort of like a.." she stopped to think of something they would have in their world "a carriage!" she exclaimed happily

"Anyway, just follow my lead" she added and pushed the door open to reveal multiple beat up seats and the smell of weed. Scrunching up her nose in disapproval she climbed in the front seat. Legolas looked inside with distrust but also climbed in and took a seat. Isil watched as Gandalf walked in last and attempted to close the door that wouldn't budge.

"You gotta like pull that lev.." said Isil in an attempt to help the wizard, but before she could finish Gandalf pointed his staff at the door and the small green light escaped out of its end, causing the door to shut. Luckily Eric was too engaged in the song to notice that.

"Alriiight, so where to?" asked Eric when everyone were ready to leave

"Central Park"

Eric started the car and they took off. He was a reckless driver but at least he had a vehicle. During the trip Thranduil held on to his seat for his dear life, staring straight ahead with round eyes. Legolas couldn't figure out his seat belt so every time Eric stopped at the light he would be thrown forward. Gandalf remained calm somehow, and looked out of the window curiously like he's been doing this his whole life.

Isil took this time to sink into her seat and think everything through. All that information in one day was a lot to handle. First she finds out that her mother was kidnapped by a psycho who is her father, who apparently had a huge kingdom and an army of freaks. Her entire life was leading to the moment when she would turn 18 and come back to this fairy land where she would become some skilled warrior and fight the evil. It all sounded like something out of a manga book Addy would read.

"You guys are okay back there?" asked Eric not taking his eyes off the road.

"We are doing quite all right thank you" answered Gandalf smiling, oblivious to the struggle of the two elves beside him.

"Wow they are really into this character thing"

"Phyeah" said Isil nervously

"So where's your costume dork" asked Eric nudging her in the shoulder

"I don't have one. I mean I'm only going cause they're making me" she said glaring back at the three men. Thranduil narrowed his eyes at her in between his attempts to stay in the seat.

The trip ended much to both of the elves relief, as they drove up to the Central Park.

"Thanks Eric, I'll.. see ya" she said feeling a lump in her throat. She didn't know if it was the last time she would see him. Suddenly she leaned in giving him the biggest hug shes ever given to anyone.

"Woah there, easy you might crush me! Really it's no big deal" he assured her surprised by the sudden affection that was so unusual of her.

"Thanks for everything Eric" she mumbled into his shoulder and let go of him.

"Yeah no problem Isil" he said grinning at her with his silly smile. She would miss him so much.

Before she could get too emotional, she opened the door and got out. Thranduil, Legolas and Gandalf who observed the scene from the back, followed her out.

"Have fun dudes" yelled Eric waving at them as they walked towards the park.

Gandalf led the way. Thranduil was walking right behind him followed by shaken up Isil, and then Legolas.

"The portal should be.. right.. here" said Gandalf looking around. Spotting something he walked to the tree that was a morph of two stems.

Gandalf knocked his staff on the tree like it was a door. For a moment nothing happened, then Isil saw how the air in front of the tree started to move. Gandalf turned to face them and was about the say something when they heard a voice behind them.

"Dudes! Look at these awesome costumes!"

The four of them looked back and stared at Eric who stood behind them with a toothy grin and a trio of orcs beside him.

"Are these your friends too? Hey where's the fair?" he asked looking around

"ERIC!" screamed Isil terrified for her friend's life. Legolas Pulled out his bow with a lightning speed and aimed an arrow at one of the orcs.

"Whats going on.." Eric's smile was gone and replaced with confusion but before anyone could say anything, Legolas sent an arrow flying into the orc's eye who lunged at them. Thranduil pulled out his sword and swung it at another orc, sending his head flying into a tree. The third orc pushed Eric out of the way running at Isil who took her backpack and swung it at the beast as hard as she could. The orc fell on his back and screeched in anger flashing his ugly teeth at her. Gandalf stretched his arm in front of Isil shielding her, and pointed his staff at the monster who cringed and inched away. Legolas sent another arrow flying into the orc's skull.

"There are more coming" yelled Thranduil looking into the distance

"Hurry, we need to go now" said Legolas running up to Isil and Gandalf

"What the hell is going on?!" howled forgotten by everyone, Eric

"We have to take him with us!" shouted Isil digging her nails into into Legolas's arm, who started pushing her towards the portal "They will KILL him!" Ridding herself from his grasp, she ran up to her terrified friend and pulled him off the ground.

"Come on we have to go!"

They went through the portal one by one, Gandalf being the last and sealing the portal to prevent the orcs from following them back.

The bright light blinded Isil as she entered the swirling portal holding on to Eric who she didn't trust to go alone. Also she was scared. Completely and utterly _terrified_.


	4. Chapter 4

For a moment Isil felt like she was floating in space. Her head was spinning and her mind was completely empty. She squinted at the bright light but couldn't see anything. Suddenly she felt her feet touch the solid ground and without a warning the earth turn vertical and hit her square in the face.

"Aghh" she groaned. Pushing herself off the ground she attempted to straighten up, but her body refused to cooperate with her and she stumbled sideways bumping into someone. Grabbing their arm for support she looked up and realized it was Thranduil.

"Are we in..."

"Middle Earth" he said staring ahead.

"..Cool" she squeaked looking around and spotted Eric laying face down on the ground.

"Eric? ERIC!" she called attempting to run towards him but tripped and landed on top of him.

"ughhh" she heard a low groan beneath her.

"Sorry.. are you alright?"

"I will be when your knee is not crushing my ribs" he gasped in pain.

"Oops" Isil rolled off of her friend and flipped him on his back.

"What happened back there?" he asked holding on to his throbbing head.

"Well.. its sort of a long story" she said looking away in discomfort.

"I've got time!" he protested his voice breaking.

While Isil started to explain the same story Gandalf told her before, Legolas approached the wizard.

"We need to get her as far away from here as possible. This place will be packed with orcs soon."

"Give them a minute" said Gandalf looking at the two who sat on the ground talking.

After the long explanation of her ethnicity, Isil looked at her friend expectedly. Eric sat with a blank expression on his face processing the information.

"So you're like..Harry Potter?" he asked after a long pause

Isil stared at him for a second and broke into a loud laughter causing the three men to look back, in alert. Eric joined in watching as his friend was rolling on the ground unable to contain herself.

"We were only suppose to bring the girl" said Thranduil watching the two.

"There is not much we can do now," said Gandalf "What's done is done"

Shortly after, the five of them started to move away from the portal before the orcs arrived.

Gandalf led the way followed by Legolas and Thranduil. Isil was right behind them while Eric was struggling to keep up.

"So where are we going?" asked Isil realizing they never told her their final destination.

"Mirkwood" answered Thranduil. "My home land. You will stay there until you learn to use your powers."

"What kind of powers?"

"We are yet to find out" said Gandalf looking back at her and continued to walk while Isil stopped, absorbed into her own thoughts. She never experienced anything that would indicate that she was a supernatural being before. No random objects blowing up, no floating in her sleep, not even a feeling of a strange presence. From what she read in fantasy books she would have by now. But those were works of fiction. This was real.

Eric jogged up to her panting like a dog, interrupting her thoughts.

"This is cool and everything... but...I'm not used to this kind of exercise" he heaved, holding on to his heart.

"It might be good for you" she laughed patting him on the back and went back to walking.

Gandalf was leading the way, like always with two elves behind him. Isil didn't really know anything about them except for the fact that they were father and son, which was pretty odd since they looked the same age. Thranduil did look a little older though. Might be due to the fact that he was taller, with sharp facial features and she found herself staring at him. She was always attracted to older men which got her in trouble before in school. When she was 13, she had a crush on her social teacher and would write him anonymous love notes. One time she got caught slipping one in his bag by the principle, who made a huge fuss about it and called them both into her office. Isil tried really hard not to laugh while she pointed and went on heatedly about underage sexual activity and jailbait, as the social teacher's face turned the color of the principle's awful, red lipstick.

Another time she thought she was in love with her english teacher in grade 10, which ended quickly after he gave her a zero on her essay that was based on her favorite dr. who episode, saying he expected a more "mature" topic.

Thranduil was probably a bazillion years older than her, but that didn't mean she couldn't stare, right? Before now she didn't really notice how handsome he was. Probably because she thought he was going to murder her when they met, which is not really a good first impression.

"So what is it like?" she wondered catching up to the elf.

"What is what like?" he asked, thrown off by an unexpected conversation.

"You know, where we are going to. What is it again? Milkwood? Murkweed?"

"Mirkwood" he responded patiently.

"Doesn't sound like a happy place to be honest" she said earning a dark look from the king.

"It was not always called that. Greenwood the Great is what my father, The Sindarin Elf Oropher named it after he settled there, building a city for the woodland elves."

"Why did they change the name?" asked Isil ignoring the glare.

"The shadow of the Dark Lord fell upon that land, bringing all sorts of savage creatures with it. The forest became a dark, dangerous place outside of the city. No man dares to set foot there." he explained bitterly.

"Wow, Sounds shady" she concluded. the elf glanced at her slightly confused but didn't question her.

They've been walking for hours without stopping. No one had a watch, so Isil estimated that it was around 8:00 pm when they approached a small village.

"Village of Bree" said Gandalf walking up to the closed gate and knocked on the heavy wooden door with his staff.

Isil watched as a rectangular hole in the door slid open, and a pair of suspicious eyes stared through it.

"What's your business here?" spoke the gruff voice.

"We are travelers," said Gandalf "Passing by, looking for a place to stay."

The eyes inspected everyone of them. They lingered on Isil a little too long for her liking and then on Eric who gave a wide, goofy grin in return. The opening was slammed shut. There was a shuffling on the other side after which there was a 'click' and the door was pushed open to reveal a large, middle aged man with a scruffy beard and an ugly scar on his nose.

"Come in then" he said.

Gandalf bowed his head at the man who did not return the gesture, and motioned the rest of them to follow him. The man stared at Isil with a hungry look in his eyes when she entered. She hurried past him, ending up running into Thranduil who looked back at her with a startled look on his face.

"Sorry" she mumbled glancing back at the creepy gatekeeper and kept walking oblivious to the death glare exchange between the two men.

The village looked like something out of a movie about the medieval times. The stoney path stretched before them, splitting the two rows of old looking huts. Isil looked around in wonder. It was nothing like she ever seen before, asides from the drunken men.

"Pretty sketchy huh" she said addressing Eric in a low voice.

"It's nothing compared to Queens." he said

"There are queens in the land of New York?" asked Legolas in astonishment.

"No man, Queens is a place. The name is misleading too, like it's so ghetto." said Eric

"I don't understand" said Legolas frowning, unfamiliar with the strange word.

"It's a nasty place basically" Isil explained helpfully

"We are here" announced Gandalf stopping in front of a hut.

"Prancing pony" read Isil as the wizard and the two elves entered.

"It should be your stripper name" snickered Eric earning a sharp elbow in the ribs

"Well, shall we?" asked Isil and followed the three men.


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as the door opened, the warm air rushed out hitting Isil in the face along with the thick smell of alcohol. As she walked in, she saw that the room was built out of thick logs, dully lit and filled with sketchy men who turned around all at once as the five travelers walked in. Everyone went silent for a moment while inspecting the company but soon went back to their conversations filling the room with low muttering and raspy laughter.

"Gandalf! It's great to see you again!" exclaimed a happy voice. Isil turned around and watched as the wizard approach the man behind the bar. The two had a small talk and Gandalf got the keys from the rooms they would be staying at.

Legolas and Thranduil walked towards a small table and ordered something while having a hushed conversation. Gandalf was still talking to the barkeeper and Eric wondered off somewhere leaving Isil all alone. She felt uneasy standing there, feeling like everyone were staring at her. Of course they were, she didn't look like she belong in there. Not that she was too upset about the fact that she wasn't an old creep with a beer belly and a lazy eye. She snorted and covered her mouth with her hand as she imagined herself looking like one, sitting at a table and drinking beer while it tickled down her double chin.

Making a decision that she will not be standing in the middle of the room like she did in the school cafeteria on her first day of high school, she decided to just find a bathroom and go from there. Making her way around the bar tables, and attempting not to touch anyone's sweaty back, she hurried towards the small room labeled 'dames' and pushed the door open. She locked it from the inside with a sloppy hook and found a mirror she almost didn't notice because of the thick layer of dust that covered it.

Scrunching up her nose she wiped the glass with a cloth that lay in a ball on top of something that resembled a sink. She felt a small movement into her hand and looked down at the cloth in terror. It looked like a family of earwigs nested in the piece of fabric since nobody ever touched it. Wincing, she threw the cloth into a wall and frantically started dusting off the invisible insects off her hands and clothes.

"Gross" she grumbled and stared into her own reflection. She didn't look as bad she she expected besides the fact that her eyeliner smeared down her face and made it look like she was wearing war paint. She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a small towel. There was a lever that looked like it was used to run water and she started pumping it. It took her a couple of minutes to start the water because the lever was rusty and wouldn't cooperate with her. Finally, the water started running but to her disappointment in a reddish stream, instead of a nice a clear one she was so used to.

"Dammit all to hell" she exhaled and waited for it to clear up a bit before wetting the towel. She proceeded to wipe her face and hands and later cleaned her teeth with the toothbrush she thankfully packed. Freshening up made her feel a lot better and more confident. After exiting the room she started to move towards the bar looking for the men she left there. Pushing past the annoyed drunken men, she narrowed her eyes searching for them, but they were no where in sight. Panicking she started to look around, trying to spot a gray, pointy hat or a mane of blond hair. Nothing similar to what she was looking for was found, and she plopped in a tall seat in dismal.

"Well, what the hell am I suppose to do now?" she asked nobody in particular but was surprised when a voice responded.

"What do you mean 'what?', drink of course!" she turned around a saw a very short man with a long red beard and furry eyebrows that nearly covered his eyes. "When in doubt always drink." he said raising a cup into the air and flipped it over, emptying it in his mouth. Half of the liquid ended up in his long, tangly beard but he didn't seem to mind.

"That's what my aunt always says." said Isil with a half smile on her face.

"And a wise woman she is." answered the short man and ordered another drink. Isil never seen anyone this small but buff at the same time and she found it quite comical. She wouldn't be rude and ask him what he was, since she already guessed he might be a midget or maybe a dwarf. Either way it would be rude so she decided to act natural.

"Yeah she's pretty chill."

"Let's have another one in her honor then!" he announced and order two beers. Isil was wary of drinking with strangers but this one seemed pretty harmless, so she took the cup. The liquor tasted bitter at first, but she ignored it and proceeded to gulp.

Thranduil and Legolas has been searching for Isil for about an hour and began to worry whether something could have happened to her. It was hard to spot her among all the huge, drunken men since she was so small and could be easily lost in the crowd.

"We shouldn't have left her alone" said Legolas running a hand through his hair. "anything could have happened! She could have be captured by the spies and be dragged to Mordor right now." he ranted looking around desperately.

Thranduil glanced at his son with a frown. "Stop agonizing, perhaps that friend of hers found her already." he said continuing to walk through the crowd.

"I'm going to search outside." decided Legolas and headed towards the door.

Thranduil was left in the middle of the room surrounded by unpleasant faces. Suddenly he heard something that sounded like muffled singing coming from somewhere.

"Well the moon is broken

And the sky is cracked

Come on up to the house

The only things that you can see

Is all that you lack

Come on up to the house"

Turning his head around he stared into the crowd trying to figure out where it was coming from. The voice was too high to belong to a man so it was definitely a female. He wasn't sure it was Isil, but it didn't seem like any other women were around.

"All your cryin don't do no good

Come on up to the house

Come down off the cross

We can use the wood

Come on up to the house

Come on up to the house

Come on up to the house

The world is not my home

I'm just a passin thru

Come on up to the house"

Identifying the source of singing, he started to fight through crowd towards the voice.

"There's no light in the tunnel

No irons in the fire

Come on up to the house

And your singin lead soprano

In a junkman's choir

You gotta come on up to the house

Does life seem nasty, brutish and short

Come on up to the house

The seas are stormy

And you can't find no port

Come on up to the house

There's nothin in the world"

The elf stopped dead in his tracks in front of the bar, and stared at the small figure that rocked from side to side and sang the strange song, slurring the words.

"THERE'S NOTHIN IN THE WORLD

THAT YOU CAN DO

YOU GOTTA COME ON UP TO THE HOUSE

AND YOU BEEN WHIPPED BY THE FORCES

THAT ARE INSIDE YOU

COME ON UP TO THE HOUSE" she bellowed jerking her head back and opening her arms wide. The crowd were cheering and clanking their cups, while the little entertainer moved her feet lazily and hummed the melody. Meanwhile, Thranduil stared at her wide eyed with an open mouth, dumbfounded by the whole situation. He never seen a lady behave that way and wasn't sure what he was suppose to do, so he stood frozen in the crowd while she kept singing.

"WELL YOU'RE HIGH ON TOP

OF YOUR MOUNTAIN OF WOE

COME ON UP TO THE HOUSE

WELL YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD SURRENDER

BUT YOU CAN'T LET GO

YOU GOTTA COME ON UP TO THE HOUSE" she continued the song which was met with a loud applause and cheer. The elf looked around and spotted Eric who also climbed on one of the tables and started whistling. It ended soon when somebody walked by bumping into the table by accident and causing him to tumble to the floor.

Finally Thranduil came back to his sense. "ISIL! Come down from there!" he yelled remembering the times when Legolas was a kid and would climb up the tall trees and refuse to come down. 'I don't remember agreeing to be a babysitter' he thought annoyed.

"OH! HeeEEYyy!" she exclaimed happily, "I was wandering where you people went. EEEK" she said with a hiccup and stumbled. Before she could bash her head in on the table, he caught her, and brought her down to the floor, holding her up.

"I met friends!" she beamed at him pointing at the group of drunk dwarves who cheered in acknowledgment. The elf grimaced in disapproval and turned to the girl.

"We have been searching for you." he said irritated as she attempted to hold herself up.

"Really? I've been here this whole EEEK time."

"Come on." he said pulling her towards the stairs.

As he moved through the crowd holding her by her elbow, he was pulled back by some force, and he turned around. Somebody bumped into Isil almost knocking her off her feet. She regained her balance and glared at the man who ran into her.

"You wanna piece of me _buddy?!" _she questioned him threatenly, which didn't look very impressive since she was not standing up straight. The man backed away fearfully and continued to walk.

"That's RIGHT! You keep walking!" she shouted pointing at the poor bastard who hurried away, looking back in alarm. Thranduil stared at the girl with one raised eye brow as she continued to assault the man who was running away now.

"YOU WALK ALONE!" she shouted continuing to point in his direction. The elf rolled his eyes and picked her up by her waist, carrying her under his right arm.

"You walk ALONE!' she yelled earning weird glances from the people at the inn.

* * *

Gandalf sat in his chair in the room by the open window and peacefully smoked his pipe, while humming a melody under his nose. He watched as the sun settled behind the horizon and the sky began to turn dark, allowing the moon and stars to shine. Other than the noise downstairs, the atmosphere was peaceful and he enjoyed every bit of it.

Suddenly his solitude was rudely interrupted when somebody burst through the door, causing the wizard to turn his head in the direction of the unexpected sound.

"... The world is not my home

I'm just a passin thru

Come on up to the house" sang Isil happily as she clingged to the elf who leaned on the door tiredly and looked at her with annoyance.

"Will you stop that?" he asked her irritated. He didn't understand what the weird song was about and why she insisted so much that he came on up to some house.

The wizard observed the scene with amusement in his eyes while blowing a ring of smoke into the room.

"What! It's a great song!" she slurred and started to slip out of his grasp since her own feet couldn't hold her up any longer. He walked her into the room and sat her on the bed.

"How did you manage to get drunk? You don't have any money!" he demanded when she sat up.

"I told you! I met friends!" she exhaled loudly in annoyance and her head rolled to the side. The elf looked at the wizard with a frown and headed for the door.

"I am going to tell Legolas I found her." he announced and the wizard nodded.

"Find Eric!" shouted Isil remembering her friend they left downstairs as the elf disappeared behind the door. Isil lay back on the bed and as soon as her head touched the pillow, fell into a deep slumber.

The room fell silent again and Gandalf turned to the window continuing to observe the view, absorbed in his thoughts. They had to leave early in the morning the next day to reach Mirkwood faster. The forces of Mordor already knew that the heir has returned and started to search for her. It was dangerous to stay in one place for too long since the spies were every where and nobody was to be trusted. The wizard looked at the sleeping girl with worry in his eyes. She didn't realize the danger she was in.


	6. Chapter 6

Isil walked through the darkness, blindedly feeling the space around her. Her fingers touched a cold stoney wall and she let it guide her forward. As she walked, she started to hear muffled shrieking and howling along with the beat of the drums, coming from far away. A dim light could be seen now from where the horrid sounds were coming from. She walked towards it squinting, and trying to identify it. With every step she took, the scene before her became clearer and clearer. Soon she reached the end of the tunnel that lead her to a shallow pit filled with horrifying creatures that crawled at the bottom. Isil covered her face as the hot flames flared, burning her skin. Aside from the monsters, there was a woman there, chained to a wooden table, screaming, trying to free herself from the bounds, as they fussed around her. Suddenly, a tall figure in a dark, hooded cloak, strode towards the table.

Isil couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman from where she was standing. She watched as it grew closer to the crying woman and her heart started to beat faster. She hid behind a big rock observing the scene, feeling cold sweat run down her back. The sound of the drums intensified, causing the creatures to shriek louder in glee as the figure approached. As it came close enough to stand next to the table, a voice bellowed, making it clear that the figure was a male.

"SILENCE!" all the noises asides from the cries of the woman, stopped at once and the creatures watched as the man in the cloak raised his staff in the air. He started to chant in a language that Isil could not understand, but from what she saw it seemed like he was performing some kind of a ritual.

A bright, orange light, erupted from the woman's belly, causing her to scream in agony. Isil started to shake, and covered her ears in an attempt to block out the cries of pain. Still on the floor, she started to back away, no longer wishing to see what was happen down there. She got back on her feet, grabbing a wall for support and started running back, into the darkness, hearing the screams behind her. Slowly, the surroundings started to change around her. She was now standing on volcanic rock, under a mist covered sky. Looking around, Isil saw a tall, black tower before her. At the top there was an orange flame that illuminated the sky.

"_Isil..._" she heard a whisper. She turned around to see who could be calling her name, but no one was there.

"_Isil..._."

"Who are you?" she questioned.

"_Isil..._"

"You are freaking me out!" she said hugging her arms and looking around frantically.

Suddenly, the flame in the distance started to move towards her. She stared at it, unable to move, as it grew closer and closer, the voice still calling her name. As it moved towards her, she realized that it was not just a flame, it was an _eye_.

"Holy shit.." she whispered.

"_ISIL..._" the flaming eye was now so close to her she thought she was going to fall in and burn. Her heart was racing and her whole body started to shake.

"_ISIL..._"

"NO!" she screamed as the eye was now so close she felt like her skin was melting and her body was burning up from the inside.

Isil fell out of her bed onto the cold, wooden floor, shaking, cold sweat covering her body. Her eyes were still shut as she chanted "no, no, no, no, no...". She curled up in a ball, bringing covers up to her chin and slowly opened one of her eyes. The room was quiet and she was the only one in it.

Pulling herself off the floor and holding the blanket tightly around her, she walked around trying to calm her nerves. Her heart was still racing and her skin felt hot, as if she actually stood in front of the burning flames.

"It was only a dream.." she reassured herself, "only a dream."

The clock on the wall told her it was 2:34 am. She was still tipsy from the drinking and she sat down on her bed, her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes. There was no way she would be falling asleep in this room tonight. Where were others? Getting up, still wrapped in her covers, she opened the door, as quietly as possible and looked at the number.

'53, they should be near by', she thought. Thinking hard she tried to remembered the exact number of one of the rooms. She wouldn't want to barge into some stranger's bedroom. That could end badly...

"Wait a second.." she muttered to herself. There was one number that stuck with her. One of them were staying in the room '69'. That's why she remembered! She laughed at it when they got the keys and nobody understood what was so funny about it.

Holding the blanked tight to her chest, she walked out of her room and started walking down the dim lighted hallway. It was empty and the boards were squeaking under her feet as she walked, and made it seem like she was in a horror movie. She heard faint sound of footsteps behind her that made her jump. She glanced back and saw a slim, figure approaching her. Getting murdered wasn't on her to-do list tonight, so she started to walk faster feeling goosebumps spread down her arms. The figure behind her was walking faster as well, freaking her out even more.

"please, please, please" she begged reading the number on the doors she was passing by. '63...64...65'.

The steps were growing closer and closer. Panic was rising in her chest, making it hard to breath properly. She was never this scared in her entire life. Where the hell was her taser when she needed it?

'66...67...' the figure was now so close she could hear him breathe. Hell, she could _smell_ it. Alcohol. Of course.

Ditching her speed walking she ran. '68...69!' Thank GOD. She battered on the door with all her might, glancing back at the man behind her in time to see him stretch his hand towards her. Right when he was about to touch her shoulder the door flew open.

"What is the meaning of.." demanded the pissed of elf who stood in the doorway.

"LEMME IN, LEMME IN" she shrieked pushing past him.

She turned around to see the man who's been following her squint at the light in displeasure and back away into the darkness. Thranduil looked at Isil, wrapped in her blanket, holding on to it like a shield and back at the figure that was still lingering in the shadows. Glowering at him, the elf touched the handle of his sword as a warning sign. The man grimaced revealing his ugly, yellow teeth and backed away farther into the hallway, disappearing completely.

"Sorry.." she mumbled when the door was shut.

He scanned her for a moment before speaking. "Why are you not sleeping?"

"Why are _you_ not sleeping?" she asking him the same question defensively.

"I asked you first." he inquired, thrown off by her cheeky behavior.

"...nightmares.." she finally mumbled, looking away. She walked farther into the room, plopping into an armchair. The elf frowned at her answer and sat in front of her on the bed.

"About what?" he asked warily, already guessing what they were about.

She shifted in her seat and looked out of the window, chewing on her lower lip. She didn't feel like talking about it, but she did just barged in here like she owns the place, so she might as well explain herself.

"I was inside a dark cave or something...There was fire.. and noise. These creatures from before were there.. Orcs? Anyways, there was also a woman chained to a table and somebody was speaking in a foreign language.. I don't know what it was. I thought it was some kind of a ritual being performed. Then I was suddenly outside and I saw..." she stammered remembering the flaming eyeball staring at her and saying her name.

"What did you see?" he questioned searching her face.

"I'm not sure. It was a flame, but I think it was.. _alive_." she whispered staring into the space, eyes widening. "It said my name." She looked up at the elf but couldn't read his expression.

"He is invading your dreams. Trying to mess with your head. You need to learn to block him out." he finally said.

"How am I suppose to do that?" she knew about lucid dreaming and even tried it once, but she could never manage to control what she was dreaming about.

"You will learn overtime. Try to get some rest."

"Yea right, easy for you to say." she said yawning and curled up under her blanket.

"What?" she questioned seeing him frown down at her, "I'm not going back to my room! That creep is still out there. Plus you got me into this mess, now you have to pay the price." she said laying her head on the arm rest and closing her eyes. The elf stood there for a minute, then sighed in defeat, laying back on the bed. Soon, she dozed off, without nightmares invading her sleep again.


	7. Chapter 7

"..Then it is vital that she learns to. Sauron has already started to twist her mind." spoke Thranduil to the wizard in a hushed tone, who was leaning on his staff thoughtfully.

"It did not come unexpected," stated Gandalf calmly.

"We knew he would strike, but not this soon! She is not prepared for this." argued the elf.

"Not yet she is not, but she _is_ half maia, do not underestimate her potential." stated Gandalf leaving no place for argument. The elf opened his mouth to speak but closed it again.

"We need to leave now, the sun is already up." Legolas walked into the room. The three men looked at the small figure curled up in the armchair, only head sticking out from under the covers.

* * *

"Wake up Isil" called a voice invading her peaceful sleep.

"Eh? No, g-go away.." she responded sleepily waving away who ever was trying to get her up.

"Isil, you need to wake up!" they called more persistently this time. "If you don't get up now we shall leave you here!"

"Five more minutes" she whined pulling the blanket over her head. Half asleep she heard an exasperated sigh and a second later her warm blanket was pulled off of her with a great force and refusing to let it go, she tumbled to the floor with it.

"I'M UP! I'M UP!" she yelled, bolting up right. She looked around disoriented, as the elf headed for the door.

"We will be waiting for you outside." he stated and left her alone in the room.

"Nice." she mumbled and pushed herself off the floor. She ran a brush through her hair absent-mindedly and brushed her teeth in a rush. Her backpack was in another room so she ran in to get it before she left. Deciding that her clothes was still fresh enough to wear today, she didn't change and ran downstairs tossing the keys to the bar keeper.

"Have a rocking day!" she yelled as she pushed the door open leaving the man with a puzzled look on his face.

The three men were standing outside, their backs to Isil when she exited the inn. She stared at the sky in wonder seeing the sun was barely up and the sky was covered in bright pink clouds. She haven't seen sunrise in a long while since she always slept in. Hearing her footsteps, Gandalf turned around and faced her with a smile.

"Good morning!"

"Mornin'"

"Did you sleep well?"

"Well I had a weird dream about a burning eyeball and then a psycho chased me down the hallway so I had to hang out with this guy," she gestured towards Thranduil who looked gloomy, "but other than that it was okay." she finished smiling brightly. The wizard observed her for a moment curiously.

"Alright then! If you all are ready to go, we must leave at once!" he spoke and the four of them walked towards the large gate.

"Lets roll." ordered Isil and started walking down the path confidently, when they exited the village.

"If you wish to 'roll', I suggest you roll in the right direction at least." she heard a sarcastic voice of the elf behind her. She turned around without losing her cool and strode the opposite way.

"I knew that!" she chimed and he rolled his eyes as she moved past him.

They took the East-West Road that would lead them to the Last Bridge. It was a risky path, but they would get to Mirkwood faster that way. It's been an hour since they left Bree when Isil gasped at a sudden realization. "OH MY GOD"

"What's the matter?" questioned Legolas with concern.

"W-we.. We forgot Eric.." she stuttered running a hand through her hair. "WE FORGOT ERIC AT THE INN!" she yelped in horror.

The four of them stopped dead in their tracks, wide eyed. They completely forgot about the boy in the hurry. Since nobody really payed attention to him except Isil, it was an easy mistake to make.

"We can't turn back now." stated Thranduil.

"What do you mean? We can't just leave him there!" exclaimed Isil outraged by his indifference. "He doesn't know anything about this world except from what I told him, but he probably already forgot half of it! He wasn't even suppose to come. Oh no.. It's all my fault." she said helplessly. "I brought him here!"

"If you did not bring him along, he would have been killed by the orcs." remarked Gandalf "But Thranduil is right. The servants of Mordor are already searching for you. We cannot risk it and go back for him." he added.

"There must be something we could do!" inquired Legolas seeing how brokenhearted the girl looked.

Gandalf thought for a moment and finally made a decision."I will send a message to an old friend of mine. He will look after him until you can be reunited."

"Okay" she said weakly and they continued their journey towards the Last Bridge in silence. That give her time to think about all the wrong decisions she made. She trusted strangers, got her friend nearly killed and then left him at some sketchy place on his own. If she didn't call him in the first place this wouldn't have happened! Eric would be home, safe, playing his xbox, watching 'drive angry' for a hundredth time or even smoking pot right now. Instead he is all alone, with no money, stuck in a world he doesn't belong in and it's all on her...

The road was long and Isil just started to realize how hungry she was. She wondered if wizards and elves even eat and if they know that she needs to at some point.. She hadn't eaten a thing since home, which was the reason why she got drunk off of two beers. The memory of last night were coming back to her. She made friends with the dwarves and then danced and sang on top of a table.. Well she can check _that_ off her bucket list.

She wondered if the snobby elf actually looked for Eric like she asked him too. It was highly unlikely, being a king and all that.. It wasn't his job to babysit him, but he could at least _try_ and be a decent human being. With that she glared at his back and failed to see the sneaky rock that came out of nowhere, causing her to trip and fall in the most ungraceful way. The elf heard her and turned his head around to see her laying flat on the ground, face down.

"What are you doing?" he questioned her dryly.

"I'm _obviously_ hugging the floor." she responded sarcastically, her voice muffled by the grass that was up her nose.

"I am certain it is extremely grateful for your affection." he remarked, then grasped her upper arm and pulled her to her feet in one swift motion.

"Thanks" she grunted dusting off bits of grass from her clothes. He nodded and continued to walk and she followed sheepishly, staring at the ground.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Prancing Pony...

The inn was half empty. The only people there was the bar keeper who was polishing glasses with a stained cloth and a couple of dwarves who were smoking pipes. One of them noticed a pair of legs that were sticking out from under a table. The dwarf leaned back to get a better look when a hand reached out a grabbed a chair for support and a boy with ruffled hair and a sleepy face popped up a second later.

"Where am I" he asked looking lost.

"Yer at The Prancing Pony kid" answered one of the dwarves with a long black beard and a scar across his large nose, after blowing a ring of smoke.

"The Prancing Pony? Riiiight I remember now.." he groaned lifting himself off the floor and pulled up a chair. His messy hair was hanging over his red eyes and he ran a hand through it to get it out of his tired face. He looked up at the dwarves who were observing him warily.

"Have you guys seen a girl here? Long hair, kinda short?" he asked them.

The dwarves exchanged glances before the one with red beard responded. "There was a human girl here! She sang strange songs to us. Her name was Isil if I remember correctly."

"Yeah! That's her!" he exclaimed happily.

"Yes, she left a couple of hours ago with a wizard and two elves." he added and other dwarves nodded in agreement.

"WHAT?!" he yelped jumping on his feet and ran for the door nearly tripping over multiple chairs on the way. "Goddammit Isil!"

* * *

It was around 4:00 pm when the massive clouds covered the sky, shielding the sun and the heavy rain started to pour down on the four travelers. Gandalf wrapped his cloak tighter around himself, Legolas and Thranduil seemed to not be affected by the weather at all. The strong wind began to blow as if trying to knock Isil off her feet, who in an attempt to keep her hair dry, held her backpack above her head. It seemed like if the wind blew a little hard, it would pick her up and carry her away like a dandelion seed. She struggled to keep up with the three man and started to jog so that she wouldn't fall too far behind.

"Are you alright Isil?" yelled Gandalf over the strong wind.

"I'm good!" she yelled back even though she felt like she could collapse any second now. Another current of wind blew causing her hair to whip the elf beside her in the face. She turned around and snorted with laughter as the mighty king battled with her hair, trying to get it out of his mouth. He noticed it and glared at her while Legolas watched the scene with amusement.

"Sorry, it has a will of it's own." she said while attempting to tucking her hair in her sweater. The elf didn't respond and kept walking.

Soon they approached ruins and decided to wait for the weather to calm down. It was good news for Isil because at that point her eyes were watering, and she felt like her skin was covered in a thin layer of frost. When they found a shelter with a roof, Isil exhaled in relief and crawled into the hiding feeling like a wet rat. The backpack didn't do much to keep her hair dry and her clothes was soaking. She didn't picture adventure to be like this.. While she was shaking in the corner, her teeth clattering like one of those wind-up toys, Legolas found some dry roots that were laying around, and Gandalf made fire with his magic making Isil wish she could do magic too right now and use it to dry herself. What was the point of her having 'powers' if she couldn't use them for her own advantage?

She looked through her backpack and saw that everything that was laying on top was wet.

"fuckin great.." she muttered to herself. How was she suppose to even dry her stuff here? Her taser was thankfully undamaged and she placed it in her pocket. She found another sweater she had in there, so she put it on, desperate to keep herself warm. The fire that Gandalf made didn't do much to her from where she was sitting, so she inched closer to it, stretching her hands out. Once she felt better, she looked through the opening in their shelter and watched as the rain poured down, creating muddy puddles outside.

She always loved storms. Rain, thunder and lightning seemed far more exciting than plain blue sky and sunshine. That was back when she had a home where she could be safe and secure under a warm blanket with a cup of hot tea. Right now she didn't have the access to that kind of comfort. She was so far from home, in this strange world, with people she barely knew. Her life changed so drastically so fast. It wouldn't get better from here she knew it. The nightmare she had last night meant something. Thranduil said she has to learn to block these things out, which means it will keep coming back until she learns to control her dreams somehow. That thought made her shudder.

Isil leaned against the stone wall and held her sweater tighter around herself. She would have done anything to have Eric with her right now. Even though he was an airhead and wouldn't provide her with word of wisdom right now, he was something familiar, which was good enough for her.


	8. Chapter 8

The rain was still pouring down when Isil woke up from her short nap. She really needed to eat at this point and to her relief she was handed some food by Gandalf.

"What is this?" she asked, examining what looked like a cracker to her.

"Lembas, elvish bread." he said taking a bite from his piece. She shrugged and devoured the whole thing. When she looked up the three of them stared at her like she just grew two heads.

"What?" she demanded, crumbs flying from her mouth. Before anyone could say anything, a loud drumming noise thundered in the sky, followed by a bright lightning that looked like it could split the heavens apart.

"This is so inconvenient huh" she commented looking up.

"Perhaps it is no coincidence." said Thranduil earning a strict look from Gandalf.

"What do you mean?" she questioned looking back at the elf.

"To me it seems that somebody is trying to slow us down." he replied.

"You know perfectly well that no one but the white wizard is capable of controlling the weather" Gandalf interrupted sounding greatly offended. "And it requires great effort and concentration." he added.

"Who's the white wizard?" asked Isil.

"He is the second most powerful of all maiar after Sauron." explained Legolas.

"Is he one of the good guys?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, Saruman The White is on our side." spoke Gandalf. Thranduil sneered at that and looked away and Legolas shifted in his spot in discomfort. "That is why it is not in his greatest interest to cause us any trouble" Gandalf added firmly.

Thranduil looked like he was about to say something, but instead, pursed his lips and looked away. Isil nodded and sat crossed legged, putting her chin in her hands. "Well, either way it looks like we will be stuck here for a while." she concluded. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She didn't really enjoy walking for this long, and staying here gave her time to rest. On the other hand, Gandalf looked slightly worried which means she probably should be too. She was the one the 'big bad' wanted after all. She couldn't even protect herself! The taser was the only weapon she owned, and even though she hated to admit it, it wouldn't do much against a whole army of orcs. She needed to learn to use her powers as soon as possible, only she had no idea how she was suppose to discover them.

Gandalf pulled out his pipe and began to blow rings of smoke while humming a melody under his nose, which Isil found very calming. She stared into the fire, and observed as the warm flames danced around in the air. Legolas looked lost in his own thoughts and Thranduil sat at the back, away from the rest of them, sharpening his sword. He looked more gloomy than usual and Isil wondered what was the reason for that. None of them were really sociable, but he just seemed to isolate himself on purpose. Even though he acted cold-hearted and proud, she still felt a tingle of compassion for him. He could have totally kick her out last night and behead her for interrupting his royal sleep, but instead he let her stay because she was a big baby about having a nightmare. Well also that freak scared her out of her mind, but it was after she decided to leave her room. Although it _was_ his job to keep her out of harm, she was still grateful and decided to take it upon herself to befriend him, or at least try to.

For a moment it seemed that everything went silent, even the wind stopped blowing. Suddenly, a loud, horrid shriek pierced the air, taking everyone off guard. Gandalf took the pipe out of his mouth and stared into the sky with mixture of fear and focus in his eyes.

"Put out the fire!" he ordered, "Put it out!"

Isil reached for the earth beneath her feet and started dumping it on the flames frantically, while Legolas tried to stamp it out. Isil placed both hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut. She got on her feet, falling against the wall, and looked at the sky.

"Isil, get away from the exit!" yelled Gandalf.

"What?" she yelled back, not hearing what he told her because another shriek filled the air. A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her towards the back of their shelter and sat her on the ground. Thranduil lowered himself next to her, his sword in his hands. Isil brought her knees to her face, and covered her ears, attempting to block out the horrible sounds. She had no idea what could be making such awful noises, it was worse than what orcs sounded like and it made her sick to her stomach. Legolas tensed, readied his bow and arrow and knelt next to them, while Gandalf leaned against the back wall and searched the sky warily gripping his staff.

Isil heard another screech and opened her eyes forcefully, if she was going to die, she might as well see what kills her. Something black flew across the sky. Her eyes widened and she clutched onto the elf's arm, petrified. She felt him tense beside her, but didn't rid himself of her grip.

The thing that was in the air, was a giant creature, with leathery, bat wings, long neck and a tail. 'You've got to be fucking kidding me' she thought.'They have dragons here!' Looking harder into the sky, she noticed that someone was actually _siting_ on top of the beast. It seemed that they were searching for something..or _someone_. A shiver ran down her spine causing her whole body to begin to shake at the thought that they could be looking for her. An image of the beast lowering itself to the ground and digging its talons in her flesh and ripping out her throat with its razor-sharp fangs, flashed before her eyes. Was this her life now? Coming face to face with death every waking moment? What was she thinking coming here? She does not belong in this world. At this point she wanted nothing more than to wake up in her warm, cozy bed, with the sound of sirens outside, from this God awful nightmare like she always did. Except this time she wasn't dreaming, it was all real.

Meanwhile the horrid creature circled the sky, filling the air with blood curdling cries. Isil wrapped her arms tighter around her knees, and lowered her forehead against them in an attempt to become as small as possible. Maybe if she wished really hard, she would disappear. Instead she felt a warm, heavy hand on her shoulder and instinctively leaned into it, squeezing her eyes shut again. 'Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop..' she chanted in her head slightly rocking back and forth. As if at her command, everything went quiet at once. She slowly raised her head, wide, gray eyes staring into the space before her, listening for any sound that could break the perfect silence. Minutes have passed and still there was nothing. She let out an uneven breath, unable to stop herself from trembling.

Gandalf was the first to move. He cautiously walked towards the exit and looked outside. After he inspected the surroundings and made sure the beast was gone, he motioned for them that it was safe. Legolas offered Isil a hand, and pulled her to her feet. She was barely able to stand up straight, her wobbly legs threatened to give in at any second. God, she was so pathetic.

"W-was that a dragon?" she stuttered, looking up at Legolas.

"No, they are called the fell beasts." explained the elf, "They are the steeds of Nazguls, The Dark Riders. They were once mortal men who's minds were corrupted by the power of the nine rings, given to them by Sauron." he added seeing a confused look upon her face. "They are the most terrible servants of Mordor."

"So they were looking for me." she confirmed her fears. Saying it out loud made it real and she felt a lump growing in her throat.

"Yes" said Gandalf walking up to her, "That is why we must get you to Mirkwood as fast as possible."

The rain had stopped, but the sky was dark and it was too late to continue their journey, so they chose to spend the night in the ruins. They didn't risk to light another fire, so Isil no longer had a source of heat. She decided to stay in the back, still shaken up from the whole fell beast business. Her fingers went numb and she hid them in her long sleeves and raised her hood up. Legolas left, and was on the look out outside. Gandalf dozed off, his pointy hat covering his eyes and his cloak wrapped around his shoulders. Isil turned her gaze towards Thranduil who rested his head against the back wall. His eyes were closed and his face looked relaxed and peaceful, which was something she haven't seen before. Isil herself didn't feel like sleeping anymore. Every time she closed her eyes, horrid images would appear in her mind and she was under the impression that if she let her guard down for a moment, the hideous creatures would come and drag her into the darkness. She considered going outside and chilling with Legolas, but she quickly decided against it. She would freeze completely, most likely in a shape of a very unflattering ice sculpture.

She began to shift in her spot that was very uncomfortable, trying to find a better position. No matter how much she moved around, the ground did not get any softer to her great annoyance.

"For the love of Valar Isil, stop fidgeting around and go to sleep." spoke an irate voice. She froze and looked at up at the elf who still had his eyes closed, but now had a frown on his face.

"I can't" she mumbled feeling like a child and crossed her arms to keep herself warm.

"There is a long read ahead. Get some rest while you have the chance." he replied flatly.

"Yeah, as if knowing that every evil bastard around here is after me will help me sleep." she mutter under her breath. The elf heard her and opened one eye, studying her. Isil turned her head in the direction of the murky sky outside, feeling the lump in her throat come back. It was only her second day and she had just about enough. The stars were not visible behind the thick fog that covered it. She spent some time observing it until her eyelids began to feel heavy and she dozed off.


End file.
